The use of shoulder straps to support musical instruments in their playing position is well known. Straps have been used with guitars and other heavy instruments. Typically, prior art straps are made of leather, nylon or other flexible material and may include a pad for dispensing the weight on the player's shoulder. For the most part, the straps have been formed much like a belt, that is, a linear configuration which performs the support task well.
It is also well known that while prior art straps provide support for the instrument during a performance, they are not comfortable. In most cases, the prior art straps attach to the guitar at a 90.degree. angle to the player's body, therefore, "riding" up the shoulder, twisting, and adversely effecting the neck. Attempts have been made to overcome these adverse effects, but they have not met with a great deal of success. See, eg. U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,423 which purports to provide a shoulder conforming curve intermediate of the ends of the strap.
Generally, attempts to alleviate the discomfort of the instrument strap have not been successful. Prior art straps, even those that are fairly wide, for example three to four inches, support all of the weight on a one-half inch section on the shoulder of the player. Many guitarists play their instruments in extremely low positions in order to ensure that the distance between the connection to the guitar and the player's shoulder is great enough to allow the strap to lie flat which would otherwise be angled and twisted. This solution, however, prevents achievement of optimum playing position, thus, degrading the performance. Moreover, it does not alleviate the placement of all of the weight on the player's shoulder.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved shoulder strap for musical instruments which is comfortable to wear and provides adequate instrument support. It is a further object of the invention to provide a shoulder strap having pivot means to further enhance the comfort and position of the instrument during play. It is a further object of the invention to provide a strap that does not twist or bind and remove some of the weight of the instrument from the shoulder to along the back. It is another object of the invention to improve the position of the instrument for playing by shifting the weight thereof directly from the shoulder to across the back of the player.